Lee Peak

"10.22.19...Charleston/Lee Peak combo (#85-20th this year) 8.8 miles, 4,300’ gain, 4:44hrs total. ➡️Upper Bristlecone Trail➡️”Secret Ridge”➡️Lee Peak➡️Devils Thumb➡️Charleston Peak. Fastest ever to the peak round trip in the 85 times I’ve summited in 8 years, and the hardest route I’ve ever taken, with lots of sustained class 3/3plus cliff climbing all the way to both summits. I only set out today to be steady because my daughter needed me home by 5pm to make her a braid for dance class. I wasn’t going to disappoint her. I felt strong the whole way and never really suffered. I was surprised by my performance since Saturday’s summit was sluggish. I was home by 4:30pm in Henderson. Mothering Win!" — paula.raimondi • Oct 22, 2019

"Finally made it up the NW ridge route from the ski resort. I had been up this ridge several times over the last 10 years to visit some of my favorite bristlecones, but never all the way. A guy came up after me via the same route. He had no pack, just a plastic bag with a small bottle of water & chocolate. It was only the second peak he ever climbed & the last one was 20 years ago! I descended Hidden Chute for the first time in many years & it was in super crappy shape. The top is looser than ever. In the chute, I ran into a couple arguing loudly. He wanted to continue, she didn't. I hope everyone made it down okay! I guess the ridge route is some big secret. 🙄 Whatever...I found my own way just like every other peak in the range & as usual I didn't need no stinking help or GPS tracks to do it! ⛰️💪😝😁" — StudioHoodoo • Oct 6, 2019

"7.28.19 Charleston Peak #75 (plus Lee Peak twice) w/ Harlan Stockman 10.3 miles, 4,600’ gain. Harlan has a steep uphill pace that is fast and effortless. I fight to keep up and I love that challenge. We climbed nearly 3,000’ in elevation gain up a hard Mountaineer Route to Lee peak in 1:58hr. A PR for me...My first time doing this route proper and not backing down from any of the climbs and not needing assistance or hand-lines. He waited on me, at times, so I could catch my breath. It was just the workout I needed. Thanks for the invite. Tomorrow I celebrate 8 years of summiting this beautiful mountain. Harlan turned me into the mountaineer I am today. And that was no easy feat. I was a hard case." — paula.raimondi • Jul 28, 2019

"7.11.19....Charleston Peak #72, 7th in 2019 plus Lee Peak x2. Solo via secret route and NLT, 11 miles, 4,500’ gain. (I needed a change of scenery from SLT.) This is a hard route and I didn’t go fast because it was complicated. Mountaineering off trail on steep slopes, cliff climbs, snow & cliffs, and I had to climb straight up the summit cap (only using 2 switchbacks) because of snow....also, this was my 1st time descending secret route alone. At times my navigation sucked and I would slide down loose scree. I made an executive decision today (teehee) to try the snowy NLT hourglass traverse. It was a risk but I was cautious, safe and used my poles. I had to make fresh tracks, as the ones that were made prior were mostly melted and too high up on the slope. I started early enough so the snow was still Al dente and it didn’t get too sloshy on the way down. Super day. Perfect weather! I had the Mountain all to myself! (mostly) (*Harlan & Barb showed me this route in 2015 on the 1st hike we did together. I destroyed my ankle on the descent that day but we took Ski Lee route down and not secret.)" — paula.raimondi • Jul 11, 2019

"6 peaks (Mummy, Lee, Mt Charleston #61, South Mt Charleston H.P., Griffith & Harris) 23 miles, 8,400’ gain (the most vert. gain I’ve ever done in one workout), 14 hours. Very epic day in the mountains for me. My plan was my own version of a multi peak hike in the Spring Mtns. I woke a bit late so I was discouraged at the start but I kept moving forward and accumulated what I could. I got my 10th new ascent route to Mt Charleston. I traversed the entire North Ridge from Mummy (for the 1st time. Very sketchy in spots) I ascended Lee Peak from the ridge for the 1st time and went farther on South ridge than I’ve ever been before bagging So. Mt Charleston H.P. for my 2nd time. The sun was sinking in the sky when I arrived at Griffith but I wanted to include Harris (because I’m never doing this again) so I raced the shadows...but lost! The traverse from Griffith to Harris is a complete nightmare Barkley’s experience choked with debris, downed trees and is impossible to move quickly through. The old trail is destroyed and impossible to follow. I summited Harris with a big moon rising but darkness fell and I had to descend the rough Harris ridge in the dark from memory as my beam of light ..." — paula.raimondi • Aug 25, 2018

"8.19.18...Happy Mt Charleston Summit #60, to me. Lee Peak too taking an unspecified Mountaineer Route. Beautiful Wild Horses greeted me when I was finishing up. I also lost my License and Debit card which fell out of my backpack when I didn’t zip the pocket up. Boo :@( ....I’m injured right now with a Hamstring strain (from doing too many double cartwheels a few days ago). I can still hike fast and scamper a bit but it’s still too tight to run. 10.5 miles, 4,700’ vert gain." — paula.raimondi • Aug 19, 2018

"We took Trail Canyon up to the North Loop Trail, then took the scree slope up towards Mummy. Instead of turning right toward Mummy Mountain, we turned left and followed the ridgeline. There were many interesting sights on the way to Lee Peak. From Lee, we continued down, then back up the ridge to Rocketship Peak, which I had not been to before. After that, we descended and climbed up the class 4 Devil's Thumb shortcut to Charleston Peak. The weather was starting to look sketchy, so we didn't stay there long. We descended the North Loop Trail back to Trail Canyon. That ridge route was extremely enjoyable! I'll definitely follow that route again!" — Kevin • Jul 29, 2017

"Parked at the ski resort and did a snow climb of Lee Peak with Las Vegas Mountaineers Club. We headed up the major gully NE of the summit to the saddle around 10750 ft. From there, we took the North Loop Trail a short way before doing the final ascent of the summit." — Kevin • Apr 15, 2017

"Harlan took me up the cool route To the peak from Bristlecone trail. The ultimate goal was the Mt Charleston Peak after Lee Peak but my knee was hurting so we just did Lee. This route is steep with great rock climbing near the peak. I was able to do around 5 class 3-3+ climbs. A few he dropped safety webbing down to assure my safety. I used the rope once to actually climb because I didn't have hand holds. I was a strange scary feeling to put my trust in a rope but I did! Harlan is an amazing mountain mentor. He also showed me how to make a harness out of a piece of webbing. We did some pinecone surfing (on the way down a "Short cut". Great day." — paula.raimondi • Aug 24, 2016

"Amazing 3 days, 55 miles, 16,000' gain and one night backpacking. I summited Mt Charleston 3 times in 3 days, Lee Peak x2, weather station overlook, Scree slope (without Mummy) Rocket Ship peak and ridge, and south Loop ridge. 1st Day was solo and after a strong storm that left the mountain covered in July snow and the summit cap and cliffs covered in waterfalls like I've never seen! 2nd day was with Mountaineer Club (Harlan, Susan M and company) and 3rd day was with LV Backpackers Shin and Steve. Mt Charleston summit total now 32. Amazing experience." — paula.raimondi • Jul 3, 2016

"Charleston Peak #26. 14 miles in 6:50hr. 1st one this year. I went up ski lee slopes. Route was muddy, wet from snowmelt. I clawed my way up to the north ridge with all my might. The summit cliffs had thick snow in several spots which made it dangerous so I took it slow since I forgot my spikes and had no ice axe. In some spots if I slipped I would have flew off the mtn. I descended NLT because my route up was a nightmare. I bagged Lee Peak on the way down. Jimmy and kids drove me back to Lee Canyon when I finished. Someone put up a TX Longhorn flag on the Summit!! Lame!!! It needs an American Flag ASAP! This is NV not TX!!!" — paula.raimondi • Jun 12, 2016

"Went with new Friends Harlan and Barb. They took me up a mountaineer route from bristlecone/lee canyon then up a ridge to Lee Peak. Then on NLT on to the Charleston Peak. They did Devils thumb, I went the regular way to the summit. We descended ski lee and I broke my ankle on the very last section near the avalanche chute and lee waterfall. :@( fun route tho. epic! " — paula.raimondi • Sep 27, 2015

"Hiked up to Charleston Peak & bagged Lee Peak along the way! We hiked up Trail Canyon to the North Loop Trail, which we took to Charleston Peak. Made a short detour on the way up to meet up with another hiking group at Lee Peak. There wasn't too much snow until after Devil's Thumb, then there were some patches on the north-facing slopes. They were deep enough that we had to post-hole up to our thighs in several spots, but nothing that couldn't be crossed. It was windy at the top, so we didn't stay too long before returning the same way. It felt good to get up high again!" — Kevin • May 2, 2015

"Copy and pasted Kevin's description... "Hiked up to Charleston Peak & bagged Lee Peak along the way! We hiked up Trail Canyon to the North Loop Trail, which we took to Charleston Peak. Made a short detour on the way up to meet up with another hiking group at Lee Peak. There wasn't too much snow until after Devil's Thumb, then there were some patches on the north-facing slopes. They were deep enough that we had to post-hole up to our thighs in several spots, but nothing that couldn't be crossed. It was windy at the top, so we didn't stay too long before returning the same way. It felt good to get up high again!"" — Brenda • May 2, 2015

"I led Bill up to Charleston Peak & stopped here along the way. We had prefect weather & not too much snow along the route. Since it snowed over the weekend, looks like snowshoes or winter-mountaineering gear will be needed for future ascents until late spring." — Kevin • Oct 25, 2013